"Eat all you want and lose weight" lawsuit settled by Utah company

Litigation • Consumers will be paid $25 per box of weight-loss tablets Akävar.

Share This Article

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Basic Research of Salt Lake City has agreed to refund $25 per box of its weight-loss tablets purchased by consumers who become part of a settlement of a class action lawsuit that alleged the company's advertising slogan, "Eat All You Want & Still Lose Weight," was deceptive.

But Basic Research has denied any wrongdoing and will still be able to use the slogan under the proposed settlement of the lawsuit brought by law firms on behalf of consumers who purchased the weight-loss product called Akävar beginning in 2007.

The agreement follows on the heels recent decision in another set of lawsuits in which a federal judge found that the company had a scientific basis for the claims of its weight-loss pills, a decision the Federal Trade Commission is seeking to appeal.

A spokesperson for Basic Research did not return an email and a voice message about the settlement. Jon Harper, a Salt Lake City attorney for the consumers, also said he could not comment beyond the language the parties had agreed to, which was that the litigation had been resolved "on terms satisfactory to the parties."

In 2006, the FTC fined Basic Research $3 million and entered into an settlement in which the company agreed not to market its weight-loss products unless its claims were backed by "competent and reliable scientific evidence."

Within a year, it had developed Akävar and launched a nationwide sales campaign, selling the pills in retail outlets like Walgreens, Target, CVS, Rite-Aid, Costco, WalMart and K-Mart, as well as directly over the web, according to court records.

Akävar was touted as a "European Weight Loss Breakthrough" even though it was developed in Utah, lawsuits said. It was marketed by the Basic Research company called Dynakor  one of a nearly a dozen companies created by Basic Research  through a multi-million dollar ad campaign as a wonder pill in which the consumer could "Eat All You Want & Still Lose Weight. … (And we couldn't say it in print if it wasn't true!)." Akävar "literally causes excess fat to be pulled from bulging parts of your body," the campaign said, according to court records.

It sold 60 capsules for $39.99 and two bottles for $79.98 with a third one for free, and sales brought in millions of dollars, documents say. Total company annual revenues were around $50 million in 2007 and 2008.

In November of 2007, a proposed class action lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for Utah against Basic Research on behalf of consumers who had purchased Akävar based on the company's advertising. Also named were four related companies and company principals Dennis Gay and Daniel B. Mowrey, as well as Mitchell K. Friedlander, who is described in documents as a marketing consultant who receives royalties for the sale of company products.

A second proposed class action lawsuit was filed in state court in California in late 2008.

Both actions alleged that Basic Research was deceiving consumers. One complaint said it sought to "redress a pervasive pattern of fraudulent, deceptive and improper advertising, sales and marketing practices."

Both said the company lacked a scientific basis for the weight-loss claims. The two cases were eventually consolidated into one action in Utah.

U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart granted class-action status to the consolidated suits in 2010, meaning the plaintiffs could be expanded to include all consumers who had purchased Akävar after hearing or seeing the "Eat All You Want" advertising campaign.

The two sides reached a settlement in 2012, but Basic Research then tried to back out, claiming agreement had not been reached on substantial terms. Stewart refused to let the company scuttle the agreement and Basic Research was unsuccessful in trying to appeal his decision.

Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission and Basic Research had sued each other in 2009 in federal court in Salt Lake City over whether the company was violating the 2006 agreement in which it was required to have a scientific basis for the claims of its products.

But then late last year, U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups sided with Basic Research. Waddoups cited four case studies done in 2001, two of which suggested that the herbal compounds in Akävar helped users to lose weight because it caused food and liquids to stay longer in the stomach, making consumers feel full longer and prompting them to eat less.

The FTC has filed a notice of appeal.

Waddoups' decision is cited in the proposed settlement of the class-action lawsuit. Basic Research is denying any wrongdoing or liability for Akävar and said it was settling "solely to avoid the expense, inconvenience and inherent risk of litigation" as well as disruption to its operations if the lawsuit continued.

But the company agreed to pay a $25 refund to consumer for each box of Akävar they purchased, or more if the they can show they paid more than $25 for a box.

In addition, Basic Research will pay $2.45 million in attorney fees, expenses of $950,000 and $5,000 to each of the four consumers named as plaintiffs in the lawsuits.

Basic Research can continue to use the "Eat All You Want & Still Lose Weight" slogan in its advertising under the settlement.

tharvey@sltrib.com 

What now?

Consumers who bought Akävar are to receive notice of the settlement with information on how to file a claim and that information also is set for publication. Other information on the lawsuit is available at: http://www.akavarclass.com.

Share This Article

USER COMMENTS

Reader comments on sltrib.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Salt Lake Tribune. We will delete comments containing obscenities, personal attacks and inappropriate or offensive remarks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. If you see an objectionable comment, please alert us by clicking the arrow on the upper right side of the comment and selecting "Flag comment as inappropriate". If you've recently registered with Disqus or aren't seeing your comments immediately, you may need to verify your email address. To do so, visit disqus.com/account. See more about comments here.